Walther von Brauchitsch

Walther von Brauchitsch (4 October 1881-18 October 1948) was a Field Marshal of Nazi Germany who served as commander-in-chief of the Wehrmacht from 1938 to 1941, succeeding Werner von Blomberg and preceding the Fuhrer Adolf Hitler himself.

Biography
Walther von Brauchitsch was born on 4 October 1881 to an aristocratic Prussian family, and he joined the German 3rd Guards Grenadier Regiment in 1901. Brauchitsch served as a staff officer during no fewer than 28 major battles of World War I from the Battle of Verdun to the Battle of the Lys. In 1933, Brauchitsch was appointed commander of the East Prussian Military District of Nazi Germany's Wehrmacht when Adolf Hitler won power, and he was loved by local Prussians for his kindness. He was an enemy of Nazism, but he had to rely on Hitler for financial loans, and in 1938 he was made the commander-in-chief of the Wehrmacht. While in this post, he oversaw the successful invasions of Poland, France, the Low Countries, Yugoslavia, and Greece, but after having a heart attack in November 1941 and losing the December Battle of Moscow, Brauchitsch was forced to retire as Hitler became the new commander-in-chief. Charged with war crimes at the end of World War II, he died of a heart attack before prosecution could begin.